Contests Results In 11 StatesTHE Congress For Progressive Change (CPC) has call for a forensic examination of ballots cast in the Presidential election won by President Goodluck Jonathan. The party, which re-iterated its rejection of the results yesterday, urged the independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to, as a matter of urgency, take custody of all the election materials and make the ballot papers available for examination by forensic experts.It added that if the ballot papers or figures are confirmed to have been substantially manipulated, INEC should be bold enough to reverse its position on the declared results in the interest of peace and greater public good and to prosecute to the full extent of the law all those found to have played any significant role in bringing the credibility of the commission to disrepute.The party restated its decision to take every legal means to contest the outcome of the election, describing it as a big and monumental manipulation of the will of the Nigerian people.It claimed that the exercise was rigged in 11 states, particularly in the South-South and the South East, where it alleged that figures were massively inflated in favor of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).Speaking during a press conference in Lagos yesterday, the vice presidential candidate of the party, Pastor Tunde Bakare, also condemned the violence in the Northern part of the country and absolved CPC of instigating the crisis.Bakare described the incidence as unfortunate, saying: CPC has nothing to do with the crisis or has it instigated any riot. Myself, and Gen. Muhammadu Buhari will not participate in any irrational violent activities.Bakare said that CPC has formally written a letter of objection dated 18th of April to INEC, Where we had appealed that the ballot papers and result sheets, as collated from these zones (South East and South-South), should be scrutinised in the interest of peace, posterity, free, fair and credible election and order the cancellation of the result handed down from the South-South and South East in the event that investigation confirms the alleged breaches. The appeal was regarded as being impractical and accordingly ignored. INEC then swiftly proceeded to declare seriously flawed result.Bakare added that the presidential election was free, but fraudulent. There was free voting, free counting but the collation was fraudulent, adding that the entire nation had thought that the emergence of Prof. Attahiru Jega would ensure a level plying ground for all candidates.We must put on record that Jega did not tell the truth when he asserted in his press briefing that it was INEC staffers who discovered the deflation of our votes in Kano and Katsina (26 per cent and 40 per cent) by the excel sheets. It was our agent who discovered this and pointed out to the Commission and the objection was sustained after verification, he said.He, however, pleaded with the supporters of the party to go out during the gubernatorial election and vote for their choice candidate while appealing to government not to try to manipulate the result based on the outcome of the presidential election result.
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